Mother shamed for sending her child to school with oreos

adamitri
adamitri Posts: 614 Member
edited November 17 in Food and Nutrition
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/local-news/preschooler-gets-note-about-cookies-in-her-lunch

Who says a small snack of Oreo's is so unhealthy as part of a balanced lunch that included a sandwich and string cheese. Are we taking nutrition in schools too far?
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Replies

  • DirrtyH
    DirrtyH Posts: 664 Member
    Ugh. Seriously, this makes me question whether I even want to have kids. If this happened to me, I would flip my shiz, and probably pull my kid from the school, to be honest. This nanny state crap has gone way too far.
  • katalinax87
    katalinax87 Posts: 146 Member
    Hear about this in the UK all the time. I get that schools should encourage healthy choices but what about teaching moderation?
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  • jaqcan
    jaqcan Posts: 498 Member
    Some days we run out of carrots or apples and I haven't been to the store yet. Sending my kid with SOME food is better than letting her go hungry.
    This was not a regular thing for this mom, so a note was completely unnecessary. If it was ONLY cookies day after day, perhaps a kind note from the school nurse would be better received. Other wise, the school should butt out.
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
    This is ridiculous. Aside from the Oreo issue, since when is peanut butter not a healthy snack? And wtf is the "If they have potatoes, the child will also need bread to go along with it." How does that make any sort of sense?

    If I ever have kids, I wouldn't take kindly to a school telling me what is healthy for my child.
  • Altagracia220
    Altagracia220 Posts: 876 Member
    People are so dramatic. It would make me so mad if I had a child and they came back home with this note. Mind your effin business, let me the parent worry about what my child eats.
  • adamitri
    adamitri Posts: 614 Member
    3bambi3 wrote: »
    This is ridiculous. Aside from the Oreo issue, since when is peanut butter not a healthy snack? And wtf is the "If they have potatoes, the child will also need bread to go along with it." How does that make any sort of sense?

    If I ever have kids, I wouldn't take kindly to a school telling me what is healthy for my child.

    I quirked my head at the potatoes and bread together, why do they have to go together.
  • EmmieBaby
    EmmieBaby Posts: 1,235 Member
    I would of let the kid have the cookies and maybe talk to the mom (by phone or in person) at a later date and explain that the school is trying to promote healthier eating habits and would appreciate it if she would stop packing cookies and instead pack fruit or something....

    Not take the cookie away from the kid and give her a note...the kid did nothing wrong....neither did the mom....it's the school's fault for handling the situation so poorly
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
    Well I'm going to be judgy here and agree that it wasn't a healthy lunch, especially for a toddler. Not instilling good nutrition habits (and mom is obviously overweight) and dealing with toddlers after sugar rush ....not fun. But is it for the school to scold the parent...no.
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
    SuggaD wrote: »
    Well I'm going to be judgy here and agree that it wasn't a healthy lunch, especially for a toddler. Not instilling good nutrition habits (and mom is obviously overweight) and dealing with toddlers after sugar rush ....not fun. But is it for the school to scold the parent...no.

    A sandwich, cheese and a few cookies isn't healthy? Care to explain why?
  • adamitri
    adamitri Posts: 614 Member
    SuggaD wrote: »
    Well I'm going to be judgy here and agree that it wasn't a healthy lunch, especially for a toddler. Not instilling good nutrition habits (and mom is obviously overweight) and dealing with toddlers after sugar rush ....not fun. But is it for the school to scold the parent...no.

    Other than the oreos what part of the lunch was unhealthy?
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
    adamitri wrote: »
    SuggaD wrote: »
    Well I'm going to be judgy here and agree that it wasn't a healthy lunch, especially for a toddler. Not instilling good nutrition habits (and mom is obviously overweight) and dealing with toddlers after sugar rush ....not fun. But is it for the school to scold the parent...no.

    Other than the oreos what part of the lunch was unhealthy?

    Even the Oreos aren't unhealthy if the rest of the child's diet fulfills her nutritional needs.
  • badgermama220
    badgermama220 Posts: 22 Member
    I would flip out. I do not agree with the school's policies at all. As another commenter said - we should be teaching kids moderation.
    Personally, I feel that my dad's restriction on certain junk foods as a child made me have an unhealthy relationship with them. The high sugar content, lack of nutritional value, or whatever he viewed as "unhealthy" in the food was never explained to me... it was simply that we couldn't ever have it.
  • adamitri
    adamitri Posts: 614 Member
    3bambi3 wrote: »
    adamitri wrote: »
    SuggaD wrote: »
    Well I'm going to be judgy here and agree that it wasn't a healthy lunch, especially for a toddler. Not instilling good nutrition habits (and mom is obviously overweight) and dealing with toddlers after sugar rush ....not fun. But is it for the school to scold the parent...no.

    Other than the oreos what part of the lunch was unhealthy?

    Even the Oreos aren't unhealthy if the rest of the child's diet fulfills her nutritional needs.

    I agree, it's just that the oreos are up to debate so I wanted to put them to the side.
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
    didn't sound like there were any vegetables or fruit and no no for the oreos.
  • Morgaen73
    Morgaen73 Posts: 2,817 Member
    "If they have potatoes, the child will also need bread to go along with it."

    Uhm double starch is a healthier option is it?
  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
    SuggaD wrote: »
    didn't sound like there were any vegetables or fruit and no no for the oreos.

    So what? Maybe the child gets her fruit and vegetables for snacks, breakfast and dinner. And, in the context of an overall healthy diet, oreos aren't a "no no."
  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,893 Member
    I send a treat in my kids' lunches every day. Usually chocolate chip cookies, a pudding cup or Hershey's kisses (because mommy kisses!). I send a sandwich, chips, and cottage cheese or yogurt, too. I would be ticked if they weren't able to eat their treat.

    And peanut butter isn't "healthy" but they should have bread if they are going to have a potato? How does that even make sense?
  • jaqcan
    jaqcan Posts: 498 Member
    JenAndSome wrote: »
    I send a treat in my kids' lunches every day. Usually chocolate chip cookies, a pudding cup or Hershey's kisses (because mommy kisses!). I send a sandwich, chips, and cottage cheese or yogurt, too. I would be ticked if they weren't able to eat their treat.

    And peanut butter isn't "healthy" but they should have bread if they are going to have a potato? How does that even make sense?

    With peanut butter, they may have a "peanut free" classroom due to allergies in the class. The entire note is phrased poorly.
  • cbevan1229
    cbevan1229 Posts: 326 Member
    I work in a public school and see what gets deemed "healthy." Like the days when the options for breakfast are a Chocolate Chocolate Chip mufgin, or a selection of cereal - Lucky Charms, Trix, or Coco Puffs. But I guess all that sugar is OK, as long as it's the school that is pushing it. SMH.
  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,893 Member
    jaqcan wrote: »
    JenAndSome wrote: »
    I send a treat in my kids' lunches every day. Usually chocolate chip cookies, a pudding cup or Hershey's kisses (because mommy kisses!). I send a sandwich, chips, and cottage cheese or yogurt, too. I would be ticked if they weren't able to eat their treat.

    And peanut butter isn't "healthy" but they should have bread if they are going to have a potato? How does that even make sense?

    With peanut butter, they may have a "peanut free" classroom due to allergies in the class. The entire note is phrased poorly.

    Then they should say "Do to potential allergy issues our school is a peanut-free zone." Not "peanut butter is not a healthy snack."
  • rorysmommy
    rorysmommy Posts: 7 Member
    When I send lunch with my child, I send sandwhich, chips, fruit, maybe string cheese and some sort of "treat" whether it is a small piece of candy (fun size snickers), a few Oreo's, a couple cookies, something. I would be livid if the school acted this way towards me. I'm the mom, let me make the decisions for my child. Something that is slowly being taken away from partents in the US.
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    SuggaD wrote: »
    didn't sound like there were any vegetables or fruit and no no for the oreos.

    Another article (it has one of those annoying automatic video/audio clips): http://abcnews.go.com/Health/mom-lunch-shamed-school-packing-oreos-daughter/story?id=30674158

    "Leeza Pearson was out of fruit and vegetables one day last week, so she tucked a pack of Oreos in her daughter Natalee's lunch and sent her off to school at the Children's Academy in Aurora, Colorado."
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
    My son's school promotes healthy eating, and in fact has a rule that parents are not to send chips, candy or pop in lunches. I have a choice - abide by the rule, or find another school. It really doesn't bother me. In fact, I've sent him with a small Halloween candy before and it came back home because the teacher didn't allow him to eat it. At first I was taken aback, sure. But I'm actually pleased that they are abiding by the rules they set out. I knew the guidelines when I enrolled him.

    What I do have a problem with is my friend, who is a teacher in the public system, having to keep her mouth shut when one of her students comes to school every single day with a can of coke and a chocolate bar for his lunch. Not only is this grade 1 student bouncing off the walls (and the teacher has to deal with his behaviour), but his teeth are rotting out. She is not permitted to speak to the parents about this. So not only is the child being harmed, but the whole class is suffering because of it. That may be digging a bit too deep, but I would be really annoyed if my child's education was suffering because they was another kid in the class demanding too much of the teacher's time to bring him down off his sugar high every day. And before people comment on sugar, I am not demonizing it, but I know how my child behaves when he's had too much sugar, and I wouldn't wish that upon anyone.

    I know my opinion will be unpopular here, but I really don't see the issue. In fact, let's look at the bigger picture for a moment. While a child is at school, they are bound by the school's rules. When they are out of school bounds, it's no longer a school issue. I don't think it's a lot to expect.
  • Whittedo
    Whittedo Posts: 352 Member
    BFDeal wrote: »
    Shamed is everyone's new favorite buzzword. It's part of the new American mentality that when anything happens that's even mildly upsetting it means you're a victim. Regardless of whether the school is right/wrong here are the choices: follow the schools guidelines, attempt to engage in a dialogue with the school to change the guidelines, or switch schools.

    She couldn't have been too "shamed" if she was willing to call the TV Station and get two minutes of fame.

  • BigLifter10
    BigLifter10 Posts: 1,153 Member
    DirrtyH wrote: »
    Ugh. Seriously, this makes me question whether I even want to have kids. If this happened to me, I would flip my shiz, and probably pull my kid from the school, to be honest. This nanny state crap has gone way too far.


    I knew I liked you! :D
  • lisafrancis888
    lisafrancis888 Posts: 119 Member
    Whilst no one should shame a parent we should as a society start to see the growing problem of children's health.
    For me an Oreo or cake or chocolate bar should be a treat for a child not an everyday normal part of lunch.
    If all schools agreed to the same there should be no issues. Children will do what the grown ups tell them to. If the teacher says no sweet things and all the parents abide by it children will eat the sandwich or whatever they are given.
    I actually wish only water was drunk at school not fruit juices.
    We have to get tougher for the sake of our children.
    As a parent we should not run out of a piece of fruit or a carrot.
    The parents who put Oreos etc into their children's lunch packs are making it hard for every other parent to try and make healthy lunches as children will always complain they haven't got it. That's why I wish schools would ban sugary foods completely.


  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
    my kids school has a similar policy. He has taste/texture issues, so he doesnt have much "healthy" options he can eat. I informed the school of the issue before the year started, and have had no issues with the staff over what I pack.

    Today's packed lunch-
    Peanut butter sandwich on white bread
    Strawberry fruit leather
    Strawberry nutragrain bar
    6 oz Orange Juice
    1 oreo cookie

  • 3bambi3
    3bambi3 Posts: 1,650 Member
    I'm ambivalent about this topic. While I think it's nice to have a treat and that parents should not be berated for allowing their child to have a treat, and that a child having a treat is fun to watch because they get so super excited about deliciouses; I honestly would not provide that kind of treat to my child because I knew it was unhealthy. So, other people can do what they want with their kids and I won't judge, but I wouldn't give my kids something I knew wasn't "food", strictly speaking.
    P.S I really don't want to have kids so my opinion almost seriously doesn't even matter. Kind of.

    How are Oreos not "food"?
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    This is a private school. Maybe it's part of their rules? If she doesn't like them, maybe send the child to a public school?
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